Fibres are of significant importance for a healthy nutrition. Some fibres have been described to improve bowel habit, intestinal flora, and gut barrier and prevent diarrhoea or intestinal infections. Furthermore, oral intake of fibres increases satiety and blunts blood glucose fluctuations.
Infants exclusively receiving breast milk consume fibres in the form of soluble, non-digestible oligosaccharides. Breast milk comprises, on average, about 10 g neutral oligosaccharides per liter and 1 g acidic oligosaccharides per liter.
The adult diet includes a mixture of fibres, comprising soluble non-starch polysaccharides (including uronic acid carbohydrates), insoluble non-starch polysaccharides, non-digestible oligosaccharides, and resistant starch. The recommended fibre intake for an adult is about 30 g per day.
Upon the transition to solid food, an infant changes from a diet exclusively consisting of breast milk or liquid infant formula to a more mature diet. It is extremely important that the fibre component present in the adult nutrition is gradually introduced into the infant's diet. In this way the microflora and the colonic food is changed gradually, and gastrointestinal discomfort, such as bloating, abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhoea and constipation is avoided. Furthermore, during the transition from liquid to solid food, semi-liquid and/or semi-solid foods are preferred. These foods are preferably consumed with a spoon.
“Milchbrei Apfel Karote” from Milupa (Germany) is a dry powder cereal product. After reconstitution with water, a spoonable cereal-based infant nutrition is formed comprising rice- and maize flour and apple and carrot powder.